Arthur Medworth Ferguson (December 11, 1877 – February 20, 1923) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for actions on September 28, 1899, during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. He later obtained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He had previously been promoted from

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

after being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions on April 26, 1899. Colonel Ferguson is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization: First Lieutenant, 36th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and Date: Near

Porac Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,751 people. History Pora ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, September 28, 1899. Entered Service At: Burlington, Kansas Birth: Coffey County, Kans. Date of Issue: March 8, 1902.

Citation: Charged alone a body of the enemy and captured a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
.

Distinguished Service Cross citation

Corporal, U.S. Army Company E, 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry General Orders No. 126, W.D., 1919 Home Town: Burlington, Kansas Date of Action: April 26, 1899

Citation: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Arthur M. Ferguson, Corporal, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action at Calumpit, Philippine Islands, April 26, 1899, against an armed enemy. At the imminent risk of his life Corporal Ferguson voluntarily crawled through a network of iron beams underneath a bridge and, inch by inch, worked his way hand over hand across the bridge until he was underneath an insurgent's outpost, obtaining a complete description of the condition of the bridge.

Career

* Appointed from Kansas, Corporal and

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

, Company E. Kansas Infantry, May 2, 1898, to July 14, 1899. * First Lieutenant, 36th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, July 5, 1899 * Second Lieutenant, 14th U.S. Infantry,

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

* First Lieutenant, September 24, 1902 * Awarded Medal of Honor on February 7, 1902 * Awarded Distinguished Service Cross 1919

Other service

Colonel Ferguson later served in the Mexican Border Campaign and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. When the war broke out in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Ferguson was assigned to

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

, where he became an instructor at the first officers' training camp. He then became Chief Instructor at the second camp at Fort Snelling. He was then assigned to the War Department as an assistant adjutant general of the U.S. Army, in charge of enlisted men. He received praise from Secretary Newton D. Baker and

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Pershing. During the last five years of his service, he served as the Secretary for the General Service Schools, Forth Leavenworth, where he organized the books division, which publishes textbooks for U.S. Army officers.

Personal life and marriages

Ferguson was the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

R.W. Ferguson and he married Laura Magill Ferguson who died in 1913. He remarried, to Sarah Maddocks Ferguson (1889–1973). He is buried next to both of his wives.

Death

Colonel Ferguson died from sudden complications of

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

related to the removal of a

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

. He was survived by his widow, brothers and sisters and his elderly parents.

References

* *
Kansas National Guard Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Arthur Medworth 1877 births 1922 deaths People from Burlington, Kansas United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War I American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Philippine–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor